A FORMER Plaid chairman was last night chosen to head Labour's campaign for Assembly power in a key regional constituency.

Alun Davies, 42, was selected top of the Labour regional list of candidates in the mid and west Wales region.

The professional lobbyist, who stood for Labour in Ceredigion in the general election, controversially represented the tobacco industry while the party was backing a smoking ban in public places.

He attracted publicity during the campaign last year when embroiled in an alleged bust-up with fiery actor Rhys Ifans at a showbiz gala night in Cardiff, apparently in a disagreement over the Iraq War.

But Mr Davies insisted yesterday his main focus was to attract as many Labour votes as possible across the region as the party strives to win an Assembly majority next May.

"This is about winning a new seat for Labour and delivering world class public services, based on a sustainable economy," he said.

He attacked Plaid for conducting a campaign "at a personal level" in the general election in Ceredigion, won by the Liberal Democrats and where Mr Davies finished fourth.

"The key thing is they lost. They said all these different things and they lost.

"The Plaid Cymru MP (Simon Thomas) is now a carpet bagger in South Wales Central.

"He didn't fight me on policy; he tried to fight me on a personal level and lost it.

"I left Plaid Cymru because I became absolutely disillusioned with the farce of independence and the dishonesty in the party."

Asked if he supported independence for Wales, he replied: "No."

Labour's Government of Wales Bill, offering fast-track law making through Westminster, was a "big step forward", he said.

Lib-Dem choices

NORTH Wales Lib Dem AM Eleanor Burnham will campaign for a regional Assembly seat in next year's elections.

The AM was selected as number one on the Lib Dem list for the 2007 poll almost guaranteeing a return to Cardiff Bay under the PR electoral system.

Ms Burnham said: "The seat is always hotly contested, and I am pleased to have emerged as the number one candidate again."

Number two on the Lib Dem North Wales list is Tudor Jones, 53, head of humanities at St David's High School, Saltney, Flintshire.

Bobby Feely, a businesswoman from Ruthin, will take the third slot on the list.

Plaid Cymru policy director Simon Thomas will seek to stand in South Wales Central in the Assembly elections.